ViewSonic PJ551D and PJ557D 2300 Lumen DLP XGA Projectors Review

The ViewSonic PJ551D and PJ557D very bright DLP projectors which are light enough at 6lb (2.7 kg) to be considered portable. Their brightness at 2300 ANSI lumens, no doubt contributed to by Texas Instruments Brilliant Color technology, is suitable for business and classroom applications and will cope with a lot of ambient light eg. open drapes/blinds and overhead lighting. The 2000:1 contrast ratio is excellent for providing high image quality.

ViewSonic PJ551D Projector

Both projectors have an XGA (1024×768) native resolution matching the most commonly found resolution of business PCs. With automatic scaling the projector will handle a wide range of other resolutions as listed at the end of this review.

The ViewSonic PJ557D DLP projector has same specification as the PJ551D with the addition of;

2x 5W integrated speakers (similar size to a HDTV)
Mouse
Soft Case

Warranties are usually mentioned later in a review but, ViewSonic’s market leading warranty combination of three years limited warranty on the projector and one year on the lamp (usual is 90 days) provide more cost over life certainty. Another big life cost of projectors is expensive replacement projector lamps. It’s worth considering that the estimated bulb life for these projectors is higher than most at 4000 hours in economy (less bright) mode and 3,500 hours in normal mode.

For ease of setup there is some distance from the screen flexibility provided by the 1.1 manual zoom and considerably more by the +/- vertical keystone adjustment for squaring up the projected image if required. The zoom ring and focus ring sit on top of the line of the lens which always seems an intuitive position.

There is a reasonable range of user adjustments which can be made through the on-screen menu system from the projector or the remote including; brightness, contrast, color setting (colder/warmer) and gamma. For easy setup there are quick pick modes for various types of images; PC, movie (home theatre use), sRGB (PC standard color) and User (personal saved setting).

As would be expected of a business/classroom projector, there is a PIN lock function to prevent unauthorized use as well as a Kensington security port for providing physical security from theft.

Noise levels are Normal 34dB and Eco-mode 32dB which are not as quiet as some projectors but given the larger venue size and likely use of an external sound system are certainly acceptable.

Package Contents

Projector, power cable, VGA cable, remote control with batteries, lens cap, Quick Start Guide, ViewSonic Wizard CD (with User Guide)

It should be noted that this projector is RoHS compliant (no lead) and that the projection lamp contains mercury and for environmental safety needs to be disposed of in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

PC Compatibility: PC Analog: from VGA up to SXGA< (scaled) MacÂ® Analog: up to SXGA
Video Input Compatibility: Computer and Video RGB analog, NTSC, NTSC 4.43, PAL, SECAM, HDTV (480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 1080i)